US-backed Forces Deny They Allowed IS Fighters to Evacuate Raqqa
Officials of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are dismissing claims they brokered a covert deal with the Islamic State last month to allow safe passage to thousands of besieged IS fighters evacuating from Raqqa, the de facto capital of the so-called Islamic State in northern Syria. The BBC on Sunday reported it had uncovered […]
Trump’s foreign policy: Follow the money
US President Donald Trump began his term by banning refugees and immigrants from six Muslim-majority countries and pushing forward with plans to build a wall between the US and Mexico. The promise of new isolationist foreign policy prompted praise from his base for his commitment to “putting America first”. Then, in what seemed to be […]
Why Saudi-Israeli normalisation could be dangerous
Driven by succession plans and a strategy to confront Iran’s influence in the Arab region, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) has engaged in several taboo-breaking steps. These include the arrest of dozens of princes and ministers and a process of normalising relations, at least partially, with Israel. But taking concrete measures to end […]
Terror attacks kill 25,000 in 2016 UN report
MANILA, Philippines Over 25,000 people died and 33,000 injured in at least 11,000 terrorist attacks in more than 100 countries last year, according to the United Nations. Terrorists are losing physical ground in Syria and Iraq, but gaining virtual ground in cyberspace such as Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube, the UN said. “Terrorism is fundamentally […]
Bannon: Trump ‘Insurgency’ Forces McConnell To Up Game
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has suggested Republicans fear Donald Trump’s “insurgency” because it will rid the party of its “cronies.” The Breitbart executive chair also commented in a Sunday radio interview with John Catsimatidis he believed his grassroots movement had prompted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to “up his game” over issues […]
Pakistani court orders anti-blasphemy sit-in be cleared
Islamabad, Pakistan – A Pakistani court has ordered authorities to clear an anti-blasphemy protest that has blocked a major highway into the capital Islamabad for the last 10 days, prompting fears of clashes between police and demonstrators. Hundreds of demonstrators remained gathered at the protest site on Friday, located at a major entry point to […]
Morocco minorities call for religious freedom
Representatives of Morocco’s religious minorities on Saturday urged the government to clarify the law on freedom of worship in Morocco, where Islam is the state religion. Their statement came after an unprecedented meeting in the capital Rabat. “The Moroccan state still places barriers when it comes to legal reforms concerning minorities,” Jawad el Hamidi, the […]
France to ‘prevent’ Muslim street prayers in Paris suburb
French authorities will stop Muslims from praying in a street north of Paris, the country’s interior minister said Sunday, after a series of protests by lawmakers and locals over what they view as an unacceptable use of public space. “They will not have prayers on the street, we will prevent street praying,” Interior Minister Gerard […]
Chairman of Metro Nashville School Board Defends Mosque Speaker Giving Students Misleading Information
On October 17th, students from Metro Nashville Meigs Middle Magnet School visited the Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN) where Dina Sirois, the mosque’s operations director, told them that they would “talk about beliefs and practices in Islam.” The Tennessee Star contacted Ms. Anna Shepherd, Chairman of the Metro Nashville School Board about the audio recording […]
ISIS Reveals Top 5 Terror Attacks of 2017
The Islamic State militant group revealed Thursday a list of what it considered to be its most prominent attacks around the world this year and called for more deadly violence. ISIS, by most accounts, was effectively defeated as a warfighting force in 2017, but its ability to strike without warning in major cities across the […]